What happend to Detroit as a boxing central ?
What happend to Detroit as a boxing central ?
There were boxers coming from Detroit and the surrounding area's for the longest time.
Re: What happend to Detroit as a boxing central ?
Boxing as a whole, in all parts of the USA, are not what they were 20 years or more ago. We still have great fighters but not like the past. I think that the football, basketball, baseball, and mommy's not wanting their sons to get hit, has impacted the sport more than anything else. Not only that, but boxing gyms are not a lucrative business. Fitness centers in general are not either. You have exceptions to the rule of course, but the majority of these businesses are not going to make any money so people stay away from them.
In my city we had a boxing gym for years. A few of them actually. The owners of 2 of these gyms died. The city tried to take them both over and keep them open but decided they should be cut from funding the first chance they got. So both shut down. The third gym was run banked by the Sheriff's Department. However, when I was training there in the early 90's they stopped funding that gym too. The owner of the facility, Ray Paxton, owned the building and all the equipment, plus he was retired, so he kept it open and it's still open.
I think this happens in many cities. If the gyms are not privately owned and everything in them is not paid for, then the gyms get in to financial trouble and may have to close. Or the 'old school' trainer/owner dies, and their is nobody to take over. It can be diferent in so many ways. The emergence of football basketball hurts too because those are the high profile sports in american now, even more than baseball. With mma coming up more kids they may have wanted to box will now want to do mma. The only problem I see with that is mma training cost money where most boxing gyms I"ve been to are free or only cost a couple of dollars a day to train in. I know that when I was training boxing only that all I had to pay for was my USA Boxing passbook + insurance which was about $15-$20 a year. With my MMA training I pay $150 a month plus I have to pay $50 every time I have an amateur fight in the Spirit MC League.
I am sure that there are other factors involved.
Here is a question. In the past, many years ago, I was told they had boxing teams in each high school. Of course they don't have these now. I've been told this was because the insurance cost was to much, there was a lack of interest and community support, etc? If that is the case, why is high school wrestling still around? Why is football still around? Wrestling is as dangerous as boxing and football is more dangerous?
In my city we had a boxing gym for years. A few of them actually. The owners of 2 of these gyms died. The city tried to take them both over and keep them open but decided they should be cut from funding the first chance they got. So both shut down. The third gym was run banked by the Sheriff's Department. However, when I was training there in the early 90's they stopped funding that gym too. The owner of the facility, Ray Paxton, owned the building and all the equipment, plus he was retired, so he kept it open and it's still open.
I think this happens in many cities. If the gyms are not privately owned and everything in them is not paid for, then the gyms get in to financial trouble and may have to close. Or the 'old school' trainer/owner dies, and their is nobody to take over. It can be diferent in so many ways. The emergence of football basketball hurts too because those are the high profile sports in american now, even more than baseball. With mma coming up more kids they may have wanted to box will now want to do mma. The only problem I see with that is mma training cost money where most boxing gyms I"ve been to are free or only cost a couple of dollars a day to train in. I know that when I was training boxing only that all I had to pay for was my USA Boxing passbook + insurance which was about $15-$20 a year. With my MMA training I pay $150 a month plus I have to pay $50 every time I have an amateur fight in the Spirit MC League.
I am sure that there are other factors involved.
Here is a question. In the past, many years ago, I was told they had boxing teams in each high school. Of course they don't have these now. I've been told this was because the insurance cost was to much, there was a lack of interest and community support, etc? If that is the case, why is high school wrestling still around? Why is football still around? Wrestling is as dangerous as boxing and football is more dangerous?
Re: What happend to Detroit as a boxing central ?
I remember the heyday of the Kronk Gym .
They were an impressive group .
In 1983 I fought on a card in Chicago with a couple of Kronk fighters.
Tommy Hearns' brother Billy ,and Jackie Beard.I think Keith Vinning who was also on the card was a Kronk fighter also.
Anyway , the thing is, it was quite impressive how at the weigh in, Manny Steward was there with a bunch of Kronk fighters there to support the guys fighting that night.
They were wearing those slick marine corp. color Kronk jackets.
The Kronk really had it together back then. A solid group of fighters.
Real good comaraderie.
It was sad to see that go.
I dont know what happened to that club.
They were an impressive group .
In 1983 I fought on a card in Chicago with a couple of Kronk fighters.
Tommy Hearns' brother Billy ,and Jackie Beard.I think Keith Vinning who was also on the card was a Kronk fighter also.
Anyway , the thing is, it was quite impressive how at the weigh in, Manny Steward was there with a bunch of Kronk fighters there to support the guys fighting that night.
They were wearing those slick marine corp. color Kronk jackets.
The Kronk really had it together back then. A solid group of fighters.
Real good comaraderie.
It was sad to see that go.
I dont know what happened to that club.
Re: What happend to Detroit as a boxing central ?
WHAT ARE YOUR EXPENSES IN A BOXING CLUB? A REAL BOXING GYM, NOT THE CARDIO BOX FITNESS CENTERS. THE GYM I STARTED IN HAD A RING, 2 HEAVY BAGS, 1 UPPER CUT BAG, 2 DOUBLE END BAGS, 2 SPEED BAGS, 2 SLANT BOARDS, SOME JUMP ROPES, GLOVES, BAG GLOVES, HEAD GEAR, A TIMER, WATERFOUNTAIN, 1 SHOWER, AND 1 TOILET. IT HAD NO A/C, ONLY A BOX FAN. IN THE WINTER THE HEATER WAS FULL BLAST SO IT FELT LIKE THE SUMMER. NOT USING MUCH ELECTRICITY IN A PLACE LIKE THIS. IT WAS ONLY OPEN 2-4 HOURS A DAY, AFTER SCHOOL AND WORKING HOURS.
WHERE IS THE EXPENSE? IS IT INSURANCE? UTILITIES CAN'T BE THAT MUCH.
WHERE IS THE EXPENSE? IS IT INSURANCE? UTILITIES CAN'T BE THAT MUCH.
Re: What happend to Detroit as a boxing central ?
Evander wrote:There were boxers coming from Detroit and the surrounding area's for the longest time.
Crime, lack of city funded recreation centers where kids could go and pick the sport up. The loss of real teachers to train the young kids that wanted to learn the sweet science. The closing down of the original Kronk.
And all in all, as bad as this sounds, and mind you, I am a resident of Detroit, Urban decay.
Kronk (the original building) shutting down last summer was essentially the nail in the coffin.
There was however, a mild rebirth a few years ago with the Team Cannon guys (R. Williams, L. Nolan, and R. Booker)...But all three of them never really wanted to train hard enough to hit the big time. Booker had worlds of talent, and now resides in prison.
Actually they are a microcosm of my once great city. All the potential in the world, but so damn lazy that they took the easy path.
Re: What happend to Detroit as a boxing central ?
youngsters believe it's no longer cool to fight and that shooting is in style
Re: What happend to Detroit as a boxing central ?
Sad about Detroit.JDGAFFLIN wrote:Evander wrote:There were boxers coming from Detroit and the surrounding area's for the longest time.
Crime, lack of city funded recreation centers where kids could go and pick the sport up. The loss of real teachers to train the young kids that wanted to learn the sweet science. The closing down of the original Kronk.
And all in all, as bad as this sounds, and mind you, I am a resident of Detroit, Urban decay.
Kronk (the original building) shutting down last summer was essentially the nail in the coffin.
There was however, a mild rebirth a few years ago with the Team Cannon guys (R. Williams, L. Nolan, and R. Booker)...But all three of them never really wanted to train hard enough to hit the big time. Booker had worlds of talent, and now resides in prison.
Actually they are a microcosm of my once great city. All the potential in the world, but so damn lazy that they took the easy path.
It is a hellhole now, excepts for the suburbs.
I didn't know that Kronk had closed.
Re: What happend to Detroit as a boxing central ?
Sadly that is true.Grimm wrote:youngsters believe it's no longer cool to fight and that shooting is in style
I know some rough characters who live in real slum areas, and they tell me that in their cities people, even youngsters, are sadly out of shape
and that there is no fighting (physical fighting) any more in the streets the way rougher kids used to---only shooting.
The 12 year olds have guns and are quick to use them, so that although these guys are formidable, rough characters, they tell me if a 12 year old blocks a city street they are driving on by standing there so their car can't pass, they won't say anything to the kid and will sit there in their car until the kid decides to get out of the way.
Why? "Because those kids will shoot at the drop of a hat."